Further to the previous news article related to the review of Pre-Action Protocols, the Civil Justice Council (‘CJC’) has now launched a public consultation on the Pre-Action Protocols (‘PAPs’). The CJC has published a 164-page Interim Report following its review of the PAPs, which forms the springboard for the consultation.

Responses are invited via on online form, with the word limit of circa 650 words – more specifically, a character limit of 4000 characters.

The CJC is deciding on what if any reforms ought to be made to the PAPs to bring them in line with ‘an increasingly digitalised justice system’. Amongst the questions posed of respondents, particularly notable proposals are making compliance with the PAPs mandatory except in urgent cases as well as amending the Overriding Objective to include express reference to the PAPs.

A large set of potential reforms to the Personal Injury PAPs is suggested, with 18 questions being asked of stakeholders regarding the possible changes.

There are 6 questions on the subject of the Mortgage PAP. Amongst these, the CJC canvasses the views of respondents as to whether the PAP ought to be mandatory, and whether its scope ought to be broadened to cover all mortgage-based possession claims relating to residential property, including ‘buy to let’ mortgages.

Further potential wholesale reforms include a new general PAP to replace the current ‘Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols’ with’ more concrete time frames and disclosure standards for pre-action letters of claim and replies’. A further striking proposal is the inclusion of further information in relation to the pre-action and litigation process to assist Litigants in Person.

The consultation closes on 24 December 2021 at 10:00am.